School of Music joins areas to perform Bach masterpiece on April 16Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Dr. Gerald Gray will conduct the combined Fredonia College and Chamber choir.

The SUNY Fredonia School of Music will combine their musical talents as the string, woodwind, choral and voice studios come together to present Johann Sebastian Bach's “Saint John Passion.” The powerful and timeless performance will be held in Rosch Recital Hall on Wednesday, April 16 at 8 p.m.

The performance and a pre-concert lecture are free and open to the public.

A faculty and alumni orchestra led by Dr. David Colwell and Assistant Professor David Rose, will be joined for the performance by harpsichordist Thomas Foster, ’09; faculty and alumni vocal soloists, the Fredonia College Choir and the Fredonia Chamber Choir.

Gerald Gray, director of Choral Activities, will conduct the piece, which represents the powerful expression of the passion of Christ set through the eyes and memory of John, son of Zebadee, and set by Bach in 1724. It will be sung in German with English translation provided.

A pre-concert lecture in Rosch Recital Hall, "Why did Jesus Have to Suffer?" will be offered at 7 p.m. prior to the concert by Dale Tuggy, professor of philosophy and coordinator of Fredonia’s interdisciplinary minor in Religious Studies.